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Restructuring, Asset-Related, and Other Charges
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Restructuring And Related Activities [Abstract]  
Restructuring, Asset-Related, and Other Charges

Note 7. Restructuring, Asset-related, and Other Charges

 

The following table sets forth the components of the Company’s restructuring, asset-related, and other charges by category for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017.

 

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2017

 

Restructuring and other charges:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Employee separation charges

 

$

21

 

 

$

14

 

 

$

23

 

Decommissioning and other charges

 

 

23

 

 

 

31

 

 

 

33

 

Total restructuring and other charges

 

 

44

 

 

 

45

 

 

 

56

 

Asset-related charges (1)

 

 

43

 

 

 

4

 

 

 

1

 

Total restructuring, asset-related, and other charges

 

$

87

 

 

$

49

 

 

$

57

 

 

(1)

Asset-related charges for the year ended December 31, 2019 included $34 for accelerated depreciation in connection with the Company’s exit of the Methylamines and Methylamides business at its Belle, West Virginia manufacturing plant, and $9 for accelerated depreciation in connection with its closure of the titanium tetrachloride production line at its New Johnsonville, Tennessee manufacturing plant. Asset-related charges for the year ended December 31, 2018 included $4 for a pre-tax goodwill impairment charge in the Company’s Chemical Solutions segment.     

 

The following table sets forth the impacts of the Company’s restructuring programs to segment earnings for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017.

 

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2017

 

Restructuring and other charges:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plant and product line closures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fluoroproducts

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

3

 

Chemical Solutions

 

 

2

 

 

 

4

 

 

 

17

 

Titanium Technologies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4

 

Corporate and Other

 

 

18

 

 

 

9

 

 

 

 

Total plant and product line closures

 

 

20

 

 

 

13

 

 

 

24

 

2017 Restructuring Program:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fluoroproducts

 

 

2

 

 

 

9

 

 

 

 

Chemical Solutions

 

 

 

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

Titanium Technologies

 

 

1

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

Corporate and Other

 

 

 

 

 

15

 

 

 

32

 

Total 2017 Restructuring Program

 

 

3

 

 

 

27

 

 

 

32

 

2018 Restructuring Program:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Corporate and Other

 

 

(1

)

 

 

5

 

 

 

 

Total 2018 Restructuring Program

 

 

(1

)

 

 

5

 

 

 

 

2019 Restructuring Program:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fluoroproducts

 

 

7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chemical Solutions

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Titanium Technologies

 

 

5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Corporate and Other

 

 

9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total 2019 Restructuring Program

 

 

22

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total restructuring and other charges

 

 

44

 

 

 

45

 

 

 

56

 

Asset-related charges:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chemical Solutions

 

 

34

 

 

 

4

 

 

 

 

Titanium Technologies

 

 

9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Corporate and Other

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

 

Total asset-related charges

 

 

43

 

 

 

4

 

 

 

1

 

Total restructuring, asset-related, and other charges

 

$

87

 

 

$

49

 

 

$

57

 

 

Plant and Product Line Closures

 

Fluoroproducts

 

In August 2015, in an effort to improve the profitability of the Company’s Fluoroproducts segment, management approved the closure of certain production lines in the segment’s U.S. manufacturing plants. For the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company recorded additional decommissioning and dismantling-related charges of $3 for certain of these production lines. At December 31, 2017, the Company had substantially completed all actions related to the restructuring activities for certain of its production lines, which amounted to $17 in the aggregate, excluding asset-related charges. 

 

Chemical Solutions

 

In the fourth quarter of 2015, the Company announced its completion of the strategic review of its Reactive Metals Solutions (“RMS”) business and the decision to stop production at its Niagara Falls, New York manufacturing plant. The Company recorded additional decommissioning and dismantling-related charges of $2, $4, and $17 for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively. The Company expects to incur approximately $5 in additional restructuring charges for similar activities through 2021. As of December 31, 2019, the Company incurred, in the aggregate, $37 in restructuring charges related to these activities, excluding asset-related charges.

 

In the third quarter of 2019, in an effort to improve the profitability of the Company’s Chemical Solutions segment, the Company announced plans to exit its Methylamines and Methylamides business at its Belle, West Virginia manufacturing plant, which culminated in the completed exit and sale of the business in the fourth quarter of 2019. As a result, for the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company recorded accelerated depreciation of $34. We do not expect to incur additional charges related to the exit of the Methylamines and Methylamides business. Refer to “Note 4 – Acquisitions and Divestitures” for further details.

 

Titanium Technologies

 

In August 2015, the Company announced the closure of its Edge Moor, Delaware manufacturing plant. The Edge Moor plant produced TiO2 pigment for use in the paper industry and certain other applications where demand had steadily declined, resulting in under-used capacity at the plant. In addition, the Company permanently closed one under-used TiO2 pigment production line at its New Johnsonville, Tennessee plant. The Company stopped production at its Edge Moor plant in September 2015, and immediately began decommissioning the plant. For the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company recorded additional decommissioning and dismantling-related charges of $4. The Company completed these activities in 2017, which amounted to $60 in the aggregate, excluding asset-related charges. The Company sold the land where the plant was located for $10 in the first quarter of 2017.

 

In December 2019, in an effort to improve the profitability of the Company’s Titanium Technologies segment, management approved the discontinuation of the titanium tetrachloride production line at the Company’s New Johnsonville, Tennessee site. For the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company recorded accelerated depreciation of $9. The Company does not expect to incur material decommissioning and dismantling-related charges related to the discontinuation of this production line.

 

Corporate and Other

 

In the first quarter of 2018, the Company began a project to demolish and remove several dormant, unused buildings at its Chambers Works site in Deepwater, New Jersey, which were assigned to Chemours in connection with its separation from DuPont and never used in Chemours’ operations. For the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, the Company incurred $18 and $9, respectively, in decommissioning and dismantling-related charges associated with these efforts. The Company expects to incur approximately $6 in additional restructuring charges related to its Chambers Works site through the end of 2021. As of December 31, 2019, the Company incurred, in the aggregate, $27 in restructuring charges related to these activities.

 


2017 Restructuring Program   

 

In 2017, the Company announced certain restructuring activities designed to further the cost savings and productivity improvements outlined under management’s transformation plan. These activities include, among other efforts: (i) outsourcing and further centralizing certain business process activities; (ii) consolidating existing, outsourced third-party information technology (“IT”) providers; and, (iii) implementing various upgrades to the Company’s current IT infrastructure. In connection with these corporate function efforts, the Company recorded $3, $18, and $14 in restructuring-related charges for years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively.

 

In 2017, the Company also announced a voluntary separation program (“VSP”) for certain eligible U.S. employees in an effort to better manage the anticipated future changes to its workforce. Employees who volunteered for and were accepted under the VSP were entitled to receive certain financial incentives above the Company’s customary involuntary termination benefits to end their employment with Chemours after providing a mutually agreed-upon service period. Approximately 300 employees separated from the Company through the end of 2018. An accrual representing the majority of these termination benefits, amounting to $18, was recognized in the fourth quarter of 2017. The remaining $9 of incremental, one-time financial incentives under the VSP were recognized over the period each participating employee continued to provide service to Chemours.

 

The Company recorded charges of $3, $27, and $32 for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively, for its 2017 program. The cumulative amount incurred, in the aggregate, for the Company’s 2017 program amounted to $62 at December 31, 2019. The Company has substantially completed all actions related to this program.

 

2018 Restructuring Program

 

In the fourth quarter of 2018, management initiated a restructuring program of the Company’s corporate functions and recorded the related estimated severance costs of $5. The Company has substantially completed all actions related to this program.

 

2019 Restructuring Program

 

In the third quarter of 2019, management initiated a severance program of the Company’s corporate functions and businesses. For the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company recorded the related estimated severance costs of $22, which it believes to be substantially complete for this program. The majority of employees separated from the Company during the fourth quarter of 2019, and the majority of the associated payments will be made by the end of 2020.

 

The following table sets forth the change in the Company’s employee separation-related liabilities associated with its restructuring programs for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018.

 

 

 

Chemical

Solutions Site

Closures

 

 

Titanium

Technologies

Site Closures

 

 

2015 Global

Restructuring

Program

 

 

2017

Restructuring

Program

 

 

2018

Restructuring

Program

 

 

2019 Restructuring Program

 

 

Total

 

Balance at January 1, 2018

 

$

2

 

 

$

1

 

 

$

1

 

 

$

23

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

27

 

Charges to income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9

 

 

 

5

 

 

 

 

 

 

14

 

Payments

 

 

(2

)

 

 

(1

)

 

 

 

 

 

(22

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(25

)

Balance at December 31, 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

10

 

 

 

5

 

 

 

 

 

 

16

 

(Credits) charges to income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1

)

 

 

 

 

 

(1

)

 

 

22

 

 

 

20

 

Payments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(9

)

 

 

(4

)

 

 

(8

)

 

 

(21

)

Balance at December 31, 2019

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

1

 

 

$

 

 

$

14

 

 

$

15

 

 

At December 31, 2019 and 2018, there were no significant outstanding liabilities related to the Company’s decommissioning and other restructuring-related charges.